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AlterNet reports
When Republicans in Congress passed a big, fat tax break bill in December, they insisted it meant American workers would be singing "Happy Days Are Here Again" all the way to the bank. The payoff from the tax cut would be raises totaling $4,000 to $9,000, the President's Council of Economic Advisers assured workers. But something bad happened to workers on their way to the repository. They never got that money.
In fact, their real wages declined because of higher inflation. At the same time, the amount workers had to pay in interest on loans for cars and credit cards increased. And, to top it off, Republicans threatened to make workers pay for the tax break with cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. So now, workers across America are wondering, "Where's that raise?". It's nowhere to be found.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this week that wages for production and nonsupervisory workers decreased by 0.1 percent from May 2017 to May 2018 when inflation is factored in. The compensation for all workers together, including supervisors, rose an underwhelming 0.1 percent from April 2018 to May 2018.
That's not what congressional Republicans promised workers. They said corporations, which got the biggest, fattest tax cuts of all, would use that extra money to increase wages. Some workers got one-time bonuses and an even smaller number received raises. But not many. The group Americans for Tax Fairness estimates it's 4.3 percent of all U.S. workers.
The New York Times story about this record breaker describes the phenomena this way: "Companies buy back their shares when they believe they have nothing better to do with their money than to return capital to shareholders." So despite promises from the GOP and the President's Council of Economic Advisers, corporations believed further enriching their own executives and shareholders was a much better way to use the money than increasing workers' wages--wages that have been stagnant for decades.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by DannyB on Friday June 22 2018, @04:30PM (2 children)
There is nothing wrong with Trump Bashing.
Ordinarily I wouldn't like politics getting injected into everything everywhere all the time. But it has become unavoidable in a way never before seen. Since Trump took office everything in the whole wide world has seriously changed for the worse in case you haven't been paying attention.
This is a president who is averse to science. Who appoints government department heads who undermine and dismantle those departments. Who cares nothing about the environment. Education. I could just summarize that he cares only about himself, and being in the spotlight.
This is a president who has expanded the swamp. Increased the wealth divide. Shakes hands with dictators. Makes enemies of our closest and longest allies who share our fundamental values. Says the free press is the enemy of the American people (his words). Promised to bring back a hell of a lot worse then waterboarding. This is a president who says that racists and white supremecists are "fine people", "on many sides". A president who has openly promoted violence even before being elected. Cancels military exercises with one of our allies to appease a dictator who is a threat to that very ally "to save money". A guy who smiles because he's making money at his private club as an international crisis unfolds during dessert, and a club member gets a photo with the nuclear football guy. I could go on and on and on.
Complain about Democrats and politics all you want, but Trump has completely changed the game and I don't mean in a good way. There is no longer civil civil discourse.
If this continues it will become important to everyone all the time on an existential level.
The thing about landline phones is that they never get lost. No air tag necessary.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 22 2018, @07:21PM
Those were overt aggression and were destabilizing.
...and let's note here that the economic sanctions on North Korea have not been lifted.
Y'know what they say about how even a blind pig finds an acorn now and then and a busted clock is right twice a day.
The Peter Sellers movie "Being There" documents the fact that even a total nitwit can sometimes be taken for someone insightful.
On all other items listed, we are in complete agreement.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by deimtee on Sunday June 24 2018, @11:27AM
I am not in the US, so I am looking on from outside, but what I see is that you think you have made a bunch of killer points against Trump. From the Democrat point of view you have. But :
To conservative republicans these are all at worst neutral points. To libertarians the middle one is excellent.
Which is it, expanding the swamp or dismantling departments? To a republican the Gov departments are the swamp.
Any evidence of this? Despite the obvious media bias, he appears to be doing the best he can to keep jobs in America.
Republicans are actually mostly moral people. They would prefer a strong president who brings peace to a weak one who bombs brown people for profit.
I'm an Aussie. The media here hates Trump, but we don't hate the USA. You are not in danger of losing your allies. There is a substantial block who think we need something similar to clean the crap out of our parliaments. One Nation is the closest we have, but they don't have Trump's competence.
Yeah. The people who think he's doing a good job can see the media bias against him. And they don't like terrorists. And they understand hyperbole. Not going to persuade them that he is evil based on things the media says he says.
The media keeps claiming that. Trump supporters think he said some people in those states are fine people. Trump supporters now routinely ignore any negative press Trump gets. The media blew their credibility and are now treated as the lying shit-holes republicans think they are.
Did it save a billion dollars or not? And 'appeasement' is when you try to buy off someone stronger than you. If a democrat had done it the media would be claiming it as a brilliant gesture of good will that also saved a billion dollars.
The civil civil discourse that the proletariat see is two teams who take turns to blame the other team for the screwing over they are getting.
No problem is insoluble, but at Ksp = 2.943×10−25 Mercury Sulphide comes close.